


Side by side

by AllHeartsAreBroken



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Light Angst, M/M, Post-Reichenbach, Pre-Slash, The Iliad References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26478976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllHeartsAreBroken/pseuds/AllHeartsAreBroken
Summary: John and Sherlock have more in common with Achilles and Patroclus than you'd think.
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Comments: 16
Kudos: 29





	Side by side

**Author's Note:**

> This is for my friend Nicole (@W_SherlockW_H on twitter) ❤  
> It's unbetaed so I apologise for any mistakes 😬
> 
> Enjoy!

John closed the book with a shaky sigh and put it on the tea table next to his chair, blinking a couple of times to hold back the tears pricking dangerously at the corners of his eyes.

Well, _shit_. 

He wasn't prepared for _that_ amount of heartbreak.

He did know what happened in the story, of course (it _was_ the most famous epic poem ever written after all), but he'd never actually read the dialogues and the monologues.

And now the words he'd just read would be stuck in his head for weeks.

_"But now you lie here torn before me, and my heart goes starved for meat and drink, though they are here beside me, by reason of longing for you. There is nothing worse than this I could suffer"._

He never thought he'd find himself comparing his life to the one of a Greek hero, but bloody hell, that was exactly how he felt when Sherlock died.

He'd never experienced such a gut-wrenching pain in his entire life, not even when he saw one of his closest friends lying motionless on the sand in Afghanistan.

He remembered staring at Sherlock's chair for hours and hours, hoping to see his friend materialise before him and return his gaze; and he remembered refusing to eat for almost two days, maybe as a sort of self-inflicted punishment, because he thought it was his fault. 

"John?"

The sound of Sherlock's voice made him snap back to reality: he hadn't heard him walk towards the living room. He cleared his voice and smiled as cheerfully as he could. "Hey."

"Everything alright?"

_Oh, I just got reminded of how lost I was without you and I realised my love for you is quite literally of epic proportions, since Achilles mourned Patroclus the same way I mourned you and most people think they were lovers, but yeah, nothing out of the ordinary._

"Yeah, of course."

Sherlock furrowed his eyebrows and glanced at the book beside John. "You were reading the Iliad?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I... found it on your bookshelf. Hope you don't mind."

Sherlock's lips curved in a small lopsided smile as he approached his own chair.

"Yes, my grandmother was quite fond of Greek mythology. She gifted me her copy of the Iliad three months before her death." He sat down gracefully. "Achilles and Patroclus were her favourite heroes. And they became mine when she first read me about them. Don't tell anyone, though."

John smiled fondly, for some reason not at all surprised by that confession. "I can see why." Then he added, jokingly: "Achilles can be a bit of an arrogant sod, though."

Sherlock chuckled. "But Patroclus usually keeps him right."

They looked at each other for what felt like hours, the air thick with repressed emotions and unspoken words.

But their eyes said what their mouths couldn't: _whatever happens, from now on I swear we'll always fight side by side._


End file.
